“In the old days the sages treated disease by preventing illness before it began, just as a good government or emperor was able to take the necessary steps to avert war. Treating an illness after it has begun is like suppressing revolt after it has broken out. If someone digs a well only when thirsty, or forges weapons only after becoming engaged in battle, one cannot help but ask: Aren’t these actions too late?” – The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine (the Neijing Suwen)

Successful interventions are almost always preventative ones. We have all tried implementing the great idea we read in a book or off a blog 🙂 when a child is at the very apex of their tantrum. What we can universally agree on is that in the heat of the moment these ideas rarely work. When thinking about taking preventative steps, like adding a regular exercise program to your child’s daily schedule or making visual schedules in the morning to prepare your child for the day ahead, remember that you are taking a preventative step. In preventative health-care models the patient is encouraged to begin new habits of health before symptoms (like heart disease) arise. The funny thing about this preventative prescription is that it can rarely be scientifically proven as the effective agent in fending off unwanted symptoms/behaviors. As an example, if the person does not develop heart disease, whats to say he ever would have?

When working with our children, we learn some basic truths. We know that children on the spectrum are easily overstimulated by their environment. We know that they often struggle with social settings where they misread or don’t read at all important social cues (think recess). We know that they often struggle with executive functioning tasks, like planning ahead for what might come. When I speak about prevention, I speak about taking these TRUTHS and coming up with some basic measures. I think that it is valuable for parents to sit down and think about the basic truths regarding their child, and then move forward in a more preventative and planfull way. If you need tips, I have plenty on this blog. All I ask is that you refrain from cursing me when my regulation exercise is not calming Suzy down from her 2 am tantrum :).